Knapps Building

Lansing voters will decide next year if their city council should meet less often.

The city council approved putting a charter change question on the ballot. It would cut in half the number of times the council is required to meet. Currently the council is required to formally meet 50 times a year, or almost once a week.

The vote won’t happen until August. Council members worried there wouldn’t be enough Lansing voters turning out for February’s Republican presidential primary to weigh in on the question.

Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope has been pushing the reduced council meeting schedule. Swope says he’s fine with waiting until August for the vote.

“So it will be a while…but it’s been kind of a long term thing that I’ve worked on …I’m just glad to have it be moving forward," says Swope.

Swope hopes by meeting less often Lansing city council members will be more efficient in how they handle the city’s business.

If it’s approved, the charter change would take effect in 2013.

In other Lansing city council business:

The council shot down other proposed ballot questions that would have allowed the sale of Waverly Golf Course and the Vector building. The council did approve an ordinance authorizing an historic district designation for the old Knapps building downtown. The ordinance will help with the planned renovation of the former department store site.